Chain conveyer



(No Model.)

J. M. DODGE.

f' CHAIN GONVEYBR.

' l No. 395,883. Patented Jan, 8, 1889.

ATTORNEY UNITED STATES ATENT Finca JAMES M. DODGE, OF PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE EIVART MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF ILLINOIS.

CHAIN CONVEYER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 395,883, dated January8, 1889.

Application filed October 6, 1887. Serial No. 251,565. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it' may concern.-

'Be it known that l, .IAMEs M. Denon, ot' Philadelphia, in the county ofPhiladelphia and State otl Pennsylvania, have invented a new and uset'ulIn'iproveinent in Chain Conveyers; and I do hereby declare that thet'ollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, rclerenccbeing had to the accompanying drawings,making part ol this application.

My invention relates to chain conveyors ol' that type in which anendless chain provided with projecting l'lights is mounted to traveltendency ot' the lower run of the chain as it passes down from thedriving chain-wheel to accumulate more or less slack, thus impairing theetticiency olf the eonveyer by reason ot' the incapacity ol' the tlightswhich project downwardly from the flexible chain to properly push alongthe material to be conveyed when the lower run ot the chain is notmaintained in a comparatively taut condition. It is not ditlicult wherethe double run ol the chain is o't' suitable length and weight to havethe upper run properly supported at intervals by idlers, which operateto prevent any undue slack in this run ot thc conveyor-chain; but as thelower run has to co-operate with the convcycr-trougli it is ratherimpracticable, if not impossible, lo take up or avoid any undue slackoccurring in said. lower run by means of any ot the expedients which maybe easily applied to take up the slack in the upper run ot' thc chain.

I propose by my invention to provide a simple and ellicit-nit means loralways keeping the lower run of the chain under sufficient tension toprevent any undue slack therein, thus woidine,` any impaired orimperfect action oli' the .iights projecting from said lower run of thechain and that have to work within the trough of the conveyer; and tothis main end and object my invention may be said to consist in thecombination, with the usual run of chain and the usual d rive-wheel anddriven wheel arranged, respectively, at the ends ot' the conveyor, ot athird chain-wheel which acts after the At'ashion of an idler, but whichis mounted to move \f'ertically or nearly vertically, and the weight ot'which, together with that ot its journal-supporting frame or carriage,acts by gravity on the lower run of the chain and at a point beneath thedrivewhcel ot' the conveyor, so as to keep the chain distended or in ataut condition from the point at which it leaves the drive-wheel to thatat which it passes onto the driven wheelv or idler at the other end ofthe conveycr.

To enable those skilled in the art to which my invention relates to makeand use the same, I will new proceed to more t lilly explain myimprovement, referring by letters vto the accompanying drawinos, whichforni part ot" this specication, and in which I have illustrated myinvention carried out in that form of machine or contrivance in which Ihave so tar successfully practiced the same.

In the drawings, vFigure l is a side view or elevation of so much ot achain-conveyer apparatus as it is necessary to show for the purpose ofillustrating the embodiment therein of inyinvention. Eig. 2 is an endview of the same, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow atFig. 1. v

In both figures the saine parts ot the apparatus will be founddesignated by the saine letters of reference.

A is the chain. ot an ordinary chain conveyer ot that type in which thecable form. oi chain is employed, and trom which project in the' usualmanner a series of flights, l), adapted to push or convey alon anymaterial conveyed or discharged into the trough of the conveyer. Thisconveyer-chain is mounted to run upon or in connection with twochain-wheels, C and E, which are mounted, respectively, and in the usualmanner, in suitable supportin glraines, D and F, one of saidchain-wheels, E, operating as a driving-wheel. The other one,

C, operates (as usual) as the driven wheel or IOO idler for keeping thedouble run of chain distended.

G is the trough of the convey/Yer, which 'in the case shown is anascending` conveyertrough for earryin g obliquely upward and dischargingin a horizontal direction the material to be operated upon. The drivenwheel C is preferably provided with the usual takeup device (seen at f)for the purpose of taking up in the usual manner any slack in the chain;but the said chain, instead of simply passing, after the fashion of anendless band or drive-belt, over the drivin or driven chainwheels,passes beneath and Iixartially around a sprocket-wheel, I, which ispreferably located, as shown, a short distance below and immediatelyunder the drive-wheel E, said wheel l having its axle mounted in asliding j and gravitating carriage, l, which is arranged l to slidefreely up and down on suitable wa s l within the main lframe-work F ofthe conw veyer, all as clearly' shown at Fig. l, in such manner that thegravity of the wheel l and its carriage l( will opera-ie to keep taut orin a of the chain, where the flights l1 have, so to speak, to operate topush along the contents ot' the trough G.

At a'. is shown one/of the usual idlers employed for properly suspendingor taking up the slack in the upper run of the conveyer.

lt will be understood that the details of eonstructimi, as well as allof the proportions and relative arrangements ot' the parts of theconveyer apparatus shown, may be varied more or less without departing`from the spirit of my invention, so long` as there be employed inconnection with or be combined with the chain of the conveyor agravitating wheel or tijgfhtener` l, which is properly locatedrelatively to the drivewheel to keep the chain i taut at the localitavwhere it passes from the drive-wheel and throughout the lower run of thechain in substantiallyvv the manner herein explained. l therefore wishitto be under stood that l do not consider my invention as restricted toany details ot' construction or to any specific form and arrangement ofthe i parts, so long as the construction ot' the apdistended conditionthe short (flescending run of the chain that passes from the peripheryof the wheel Eonto that of the wheel l, and to also i matically taken upor prevented by a gravikeep in a strained or taut condition that portion(or the lower run)ol' the chain which passes from the periphery of wheell obliquely npward to the wheel (l, and from which project the flightsl), that work within the conveyertrough G. lt will be understood, ot'course, that this tighteningI gravitating wheel I is preferably locatedrelatively to the receiving` end of the trough G soas to permitaslightor the necessary downward movement of the lower run of the chain at thevicinity of the rect-living end of the trough without causing any unduestrain on the working or lower etllges of the flights l) as they enterthe lower end of the trough G. Of course the wheel l and its carriage Kmaybe either made of sufficient weight, (or should be properlyweightech) according to circumstances, so as to always produce thedesired effect ot' keeping sufficiently taut or strained the lower runof the chain A to insure the perfect working of the flights in theconveyer-trough, and it will be understood that, while the usual take-updevice, f, is enr ployed and arranged so as to set the conveyerchain andkeep it in substantially the proper average degree of tightness, theautomatically-operating tighteners (so to speak) I will perform thefunction of takin up or preventing any undue slack of the chain after itleaves the drive-wheel E and during the lower run paratus be such, asshown, that any slack in the lower run of the chain tendin to impair theefficient operation of the flights is autotating wheel or itsequivalent. i

lVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

ln a chain conveyer of the type shown and described, the comljiinationof the following instrumentalities, to wit: first, the endless chain A,provided with t-he usual tlights, h; second, the stationary d ri v i nsprocket-wheel E and the adjustable driven spiiocket-wheel (l, aroundwhich said endless chain passes; third, the usual conveyer-trough, G,arranged or located to permit the action therein of the tiights ot' thelower run of the chain, and, fourth, the automatic or gravitatingtake-up sprocket-wheel I, arranged beneath the drivingwheel within. thedouble run of the tlighted conveyer-chain and in the vicinity of thepoint of co-operation between the iiights and the trough, the saidinstrum entalities all arranged and operating together sulJstantially inthe manner and Vfor the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

In witness whereof lha-vo hertiuinto set my hand this Sd day of(')ctolfieig i887.

JAMES M. DODGE.

Witnesses:

)L G'ETZ, ll. Ricos'.

IOO

